Here are the topics for the program to air on Sunday, January 22, 2012. You may comment on any topic on this blog.
The Moral Side of the News airs on WHAS-TV on Sunday mornings at 5:30am and WHAS 840AM radia on Sunday evenings at 9:30pm. It may also be seen or heard in Louisville on the FAITH CHANNEL on Sundays at noon, and on various Louisville radio stations at 7am or 7:30am Sundays.
TOPIC 1:
Cruise Captain Says He 'Tripped' Into Lifeboat, Couldn't Get Out
The captain of the Italian cruise ship gave a slapstick explanation of how he ended up safely in a lifeboat instead of going down with his ship, saying he tripped and fell into the boat as it was being lowered into the sea, Italian media reported today. "I had no intention of escaping," Francesco Schettino, 52, said during his first court hearing Tuesday, according to Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper. "I was helping some passengers put the life boat to sea. At a certain point the mechanism for lowering it, blocked. We had to force it. Suddenly the system unblocked itself and I tripped and I found myself inside the life boat with a number of passengers." Once in the lifeboat that was lowered into the sea, Schettino insisted to the court that it was "impossible to go back onboard."
The captain also reportedly admitted to the court that he lied at one point when he assured officials that he had dropped anchor shortly after the Costa Concordia slammed into a rock to stabilize the luxury liner. However a video by the Guardia di Finanza who arrived onsite 10 minutes after the disaster clearly shows that the anchor had not been lowered. Schettino admitted Tuesday that he lied about the anchor, the newspaper reported.
The luxury cruise ship was carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew when it struck rocks Friday evening near Giglio off the coast of Tuscany, during a close pass to shore. At least 11 people were killed in the aftermath when the ship keeled over. Nearly two dozen people are still missing, including an American couple from Minnesota.
Schettino reportedly admitted that he made mistakes that led to the crash and afterwards, but said the ship's course, including the now-controversial close pass, had been set from the beginning. The cruise line previously said Schettino had made an unauthorized deviation from the programmed route. Schettino, who is currently under house arrest, is under investigation for potentially causing the wreck by steering into the rocks and then abandoning the panicked passengers for a lifeboat as the ship plunged over on its side. In recorded radio transmissions released Tuesday, Schettino is heard telling Italian Port Authority officials he and other officers abandoned ship. "And with 100 people still on board, you abandon ship? [expletive]," the Port Authority officer says in response.
Schettino appears to correct himself, saying, "I didn't abandon any ship... because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water." The recording goes on to show the Port Authority official repeatedly berating Schettino for not going back to the ship to coordinate rescue efforts, and at one point ordering Schettino to "get back on board for [expletive]'s sake!" TRANSCRIPT: 'Get Back on Board for [Expletive] Sake!'
CONTINUE READING: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/cruise-captain-claimed-tripped-lifeboat-report/story?id=15386279
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on this tragedy and the captain’s explanation for abandoning his ship?
TOPIC 2:
Dems Face $1K-A-Day Fines Over No Show
INDIANAPOLIS -- House Republicans voted Wednesday to start imposing $1,000 fines against Democratic legislators who have resumed their boycott of a right-to-work bill. Democrats refused to enter the chamber Wednesday to allow a quorum, instead holding an open caucus inside the Statehouse rotunda, surrounded by hundreds of union supporters. "They have tried to stop you from being in this building. You wouldn't allow it to happen," Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer told the cheering crowd.
Bauer and Republican Speaker Brian Bosma squabbled Tuesday over what Bauer called Bosma's "manipulation" of an effort to put right-to-work legislation on the ballot. The two leaders fought over who broke a truce negotiated designed to keep Democrats in the House chamber long enough for a vote on the Republican plan to ban union contracts with mandatory representation fees. The legislation has brought hundreds of labor protesters to the Statehouse almost daily and spurred Democrats to frequently block action by denying Republicans the number of lawmakers needed to conduct any business.
Lawmakers had planned Tuesday to vote on whether to put the right-to-work bill to referendum before voters this fall. But Bauer said he found out late Monday that state lawyers had raised questions about the constitutionality of such a measure. He called it a trick from Bosma designed to give Republicans cover to vote against the referendum proposal. "We will not let the Republicans press a crown of thorns upon the brows of the working families of Indiana," said Rep. Terry Goodin, D-Austin.
Among Wednesday's crowd were Teamsters members were wearing shirts with an XLVI and a slash, a clear reference to the Super Bowl, many shouting "Occupy the Super Bowl." Teamsters Local 135 Director Jeff Combs said the union is discussing plans to protest right-to-work at the game so they can bring their cause to a national audience. "We'll roll 100 trucks in here, 200 if we need to and put in thousands of people if we have to" to surround the stadium, Combs said. A representative with the Super Bowl Host Committee told RTV6 that public safety officials will be ready to deal with any disruptions, but said they hope the protesters will realize what the game means to Indiana.
WATCH STORY: http://www.theindychannel.com/politics/30239912/detail.html
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on this and the plans to take the protest to the Super Bowl?
TOPIC 3:
Anthony Bourdain Slams Paula Deen for Diabetes-Drug Partnership
Anthony Bourdain, a New York-based chef and host of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations," took to Twitter Tuesday night to resume his criticism of chef Paula Deen by tweeting, "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later." The comment is presumably another slam against the down-home chef's decision to become the face of diabetes drug-maker Novo Nordisk.
Deen, host of the Food Network's "Paula's Best Dishes," put rumors to bed Tuesday by confirming on NBC's "Today Show" that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years ago, even though she continued to tout her buttery, artery-clogging Southern cuisine. She also announced the launch of her new campaign, "Diabetes in a New Light," which is in partnership with diabetes drug-maker Novo Nordisk. Deen, 64, reportedly treats her diabetes with the company's Victoza, a daily injectable drug that is meant to maintain blood-sugar levels. She will appear in an advertisement for the drug later this month, USA Today reported.
But this wasn't Bourdain's first time criticizing the jovial cooking host. He told TV Guide last year that Deen was the "worst, most dangerous person in America" because of her high-fat cooking. Upon hearing of Deen's diabetes diagnosis, Bourdain had even more criticism to sling. "When your signature dish is hamburger in between a doughnut, and you've been cheerfully selling this stuff knowing all along that you've got Type 2 Diabetes. ... It's in bad taste if nothing else," he told Eater Monday.
Deen defended her decision to keep quiet in order to become educated on the condition before taking it public. "I made the choice at the time to keep it close to me, to keep it close to my chest," she told USA Today. "I felt like I had nothing to offer anybody other than the announcement. I wasn't armed with enough knowledge. I knew when it was time, it would be in God's time."
CONTINUE READING: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/anthony-bourdain-slams-paula-deen/story?id=15386289
QUESTION: What are your thoughts on this? Do you think Paula Deen should have reported her diagnosis sooner?
Comments